Some chemical compounds found in the Great Lakes may be hurting somefish’s reproductive systems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’sJonathan Ahl reports:
Transcript
Some chemical compounds found in the Great Lakes may be hurting some fish’s
reproductive systems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports.
The U.S. EPA is studying human hormones that get into the Great Lakes from
wastewater to see their effect on fish. Paul Horvatin of the EPA’s Great Lakes office
says preliminary results show the chemicals are drastically changing the sex organs of
some male fish.
“It feminizes the male fish to the point where it creates a hormonal
imbalance in the males and they don’t quite reproduce, as they should in the natural
populations.”
Horvatin says more studies should reveal the full extent of the problem, and indicate
some options for a solution. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.